The Guardian
by Parda
Summary: An Immortal tries to get his hands on the magical sword Excalibur, any way he can. - a script-format story featuring Duncan and Karla Morgan, the immie from the convention Legacy 2000.


_DISCLAIMER: The Immortal/Quickening/HL universe wasn't my invention. No money being made, etc._

* * *

**HIGHLANDER**

**"The Guardian"**  
(Working title "The Nun of Swords")

_A story in script-format for Season 6 featuring Karla Morgan and Frederich von Braun, the immies from Legacy 2000._

**Written by Parda in 2000**

* * *

_Based on ideas from a plot created by the attendees of the session "The Process: Creating the Story and the Sword Fights" (or "Why writing Scripts isn't like Writing FanFic") at Legacy Con 2000. (See notes at end for details.) With kind assistance from Listen-r, Genevieve, Robin, and Cathy, and with inspiration and ideas from Morgan. The character Karla Morgan also appears in my story _Hope Triumphant III: Anamchara.

* * *

**CAST LIST**

Duncan MacLeod  
Karla Morgan  
Frederich von Braun  
Mother Superior Mary Bernadette

Young Frederich (7 years old)  
Nun  
Abbess  
Chloe (8 year old schoolgirl)  
Claude (French Resistance Fighter)

Nonspeaking roles: some school children, a few nuns, a few resistance fighters, at least one Nazi, a woman c. 1943

* * *

**SET LIST **(year is 1998 unless otherwise noted)**  
**

**INTERIORS**  
Tower Room  
Tower Stairs  
Abbey Church  
Abbey Hallway  
Bed Chamber (1454, 1487)

**EXTERIORS**  
Roof top near abbey  
Bombed out house or village or stretch of road in occupied France (1943)  
Abbey Courtyard (1998 and 1454)  
Abbey Cemetery  
Deserted Battlefield (1631)  
Forest (1510)  
Garden (or any good spot near abbey for a duel)

* * *

**== TEASER ==**

**SETTING: August 1998, an abbey in Paris France  
**

**FADE IN:**

**60801 EXT. ABBEY - SUNSET**

_In the stone-walled courtyard of the abbey, a line of uniformed school children hurries to supper, guided by a white-robed nun. Bells ring, pigeons fly, a Celtic cross is outlined against the sky. The distant window of a tall circular tower beckons. Move in on:_

**60802 INT. TOWER ROOM**

_A nearly bare circular space, four windows, stone walls, one door. Furniture consists of a narrow bed, a computer desk and chair, many bookshelves. A collection of objects spanning centuries and continents hangs on the wall: a Robin Hood-esque bow and a quiver full of arrows, a Navaho rug, an African mask, etc. A loom is against the wall, the cloth (NOT a tartan) half-woven, a basket of skeins on the floor. A golf bag with three or four sword handles sticking out is handily close to the door. Four security cameras above the door give views of stairs, tower, courtyard, the outside of the abbey gate. On the other side of the door, a bright purple electric guitar with huge amplifiers. Finally, a round shield hangs alone, brown leather with celtic knotwork designs in the shape of a cross, studded with four equidistant jewels (red, black, green, white) on the outer rim of the circle. A sword holder is front of the shield is conspicuously empty._

_Directly beneath the shield lounges_

KARLA MORGAN (or Lay Sister Mary Carlotta, right now)

_Sitting at her computer desk, sorting through her (paper) mail. Dressed in a simple light blue dress and sensible shoes with a plain wooden cross necklace, her white wimple hangs crookedly on the back of her chair. Her short hair is neatly brushed., no makeup. Tall and slender, not traditionally "pretty," but striking with a lean elegance and a grace of movement. A soda and a bag of potato chips are near at hand._

Karla flips through mail, tossing junk mail into the trash can beside her. Stops at a handwritten letter, frowns, opens it, reads it, then slowly rips it into tiny shreds and drops it into the trash.

She stands and stretches, then picks up her guitar and starts playing "Stairway to Heaven."

ALARM SOUNDS.

Karla glances first at weapons near the door, then at security cameras. A white-robed nun is slowly climbing the stairs. Karla sets down guitar, hurriedly puts on her wimple, straightens her dress, goes to unlock the door and greet the nun.

KARLA  
"Mother Bernadette, please come in."

BERNADETTE  
(huffing and puffing, same build as Karla, 50ish)(with a glance at the guitar) "Three of the nuns have requested that you not play quite so much Led Zeppelin, Karla."

KARLA  
(somewhat abashed) "I forgot to shut the windows again, didn't I?"

BERNADETTE  
(dryly) "Mm-hmm. Though the children in the orphanage don't mind."

KARLA  
"I'm sorry. It's get hot up here in the summer." (notices that Bernadette is still puffing, brings over a chair) "You shouldn't have climbed all the way up here! I would have come to your office."

BERNADETTE  
"Oh, I need the exercise." (sitting down gratefully, takes deep breaths.) "How many steps is that, anyway?"

KARLA  
"Two hundred and twelve."

BERNADETTE  
"And you run it four times a day."

KARLA  
"Sometimes more. As you say, I need the exercise."

BERNADETTE  
(with another glance at the guitar) "So, when are going to start playing some of Jimi Hendrix's songs again?"

KARLA  
(smiling fondly) "You never have gotten over the '60s, have you? I still remember when you were a novice thirty years ago, and you tie-dyed all the wimples blue and purple and orange."

BERNADETTE  
(smiling in return) "You helped! A pair of rebels, the Mistress of the Novices called us." (looks about her) "This is very peaceful here, Karla. I can see why you like this tower room, why you've been living up here for the past three hundred years. Or is four hundred now?"

KARLA  
"Three hundred sixty-seven."

BERNADETTE  
"And how many years in other towers?"

KARLA  
(looks away, doesn't answer)

BERNADETTE  
(comes over to her, wanting to help) "Karla, even though we call you 'Sister Mary Carlotta,' you're never taken final vows. You're a lay sister here, and I'm not really your Mother Superior." (smiles) "I'm certainly not old enough to be your mother. But you've been troubled for weeks now, ever since Mother Claudine died. You know she told me about you being immortal. We've passed down your secret for centuries at the abbey; you're a tradition here. "

KARLA  
(Looks around her room) "I've found a home here, and safety. There have been so many wars, so many deaths ..." (Karla moves away, fingers weaving on loom.)

BERNADETTE  
(following Karla) "You are troubled. I know you and Mother Claudine were very close. I'd like to continue that tradition, too."

KARLA  
(heartfelt, a holding of hands.) "Thank you. But ... it's something I need to deal with alone." (cheerfully) "So, how do you like your new job as Mother Superior?"

BERNADETTE  
(a bit worried) "Oh, well ... (goes over to look out the window at the abbey) "I'm getting used to it, and so are the sisters. (turns back to Karla) "I guess they will just have to get used to having a rebel in charge."

KARLA  
(grinning) "Yes. They will, in time."

SOUND OF DISTANT GUN SHOT

Bernadette falls forward into room, red blood staining the front of her white habit. Karla catches her and they go to the floor. Bernadette blinks, tries to speak, dies in Karla's arms.

Karla gently but quickly lays her down, crawls across floor to get to computer. Picture from security monitor appears on screen, Karla eventually SCANS to the rooftop across the street from the abbey. A man stands there, a rifle with scope in one hand and a sword in the other. We can't see his face, the sun is setting behind him.

Karla glances at trash can, stands and retrieves sword from the golf bag, goes to window.

In the distance, MAN on roof slowly lifts his sword in salute (blade straight up in front of his face).

Karla (bloodstains on habit and hands) does the same, and they nod grimly to each other. The battle has been joined.

**FADE OUT**

**== END OF TEASER ==**

* * *

_insert commercials here_

* * *

**== ACT ONE ==**

**SETTING: Present Day, Paris France  
**

**FADE IN:**

**60803 EXT. ABBEY CEMETERY - DAY**

Nuns and children and other people stand about the open grave of Mother Superior Mary Bernadette, a priest says prayers. Altar boys wave incense burners.

DUNCAN MACLEOD stands at the edge of the crowd, solemnly watching. Gets the BUZZ, looks around. FREDERICH VON BRAUN, a solid and compact bear of a man (looks to be 40ish, is in fact 430) comes over, smiling and holding out his hand.

FREDERICH  
"Duncan MacLeod!"

DUNCAN  
(pleased to see him, shaking hands) "Frederich von Braun. Been a while."

FREDERICH  
"Fifty years, more or less."

DUNCAN  
"More."

* * *

**FLASHBACK TRANSITION TO 1943, Occupied France  
**

**60804 EXT. BOMBED OUT HOUSE - OCCUPIED FRANCE - 1943 - DAY**

Duncan crouches with French Resistance people, hiding. Nazi car drives by. Duncan's group relaxes a little when it disappears, then Duncan tenses again as he gets the BUZZ.

DUNCAN  
"Claude, someone's coming."

(Claude looks around. Sentry in the distance waves a man toward them.)

CLAUDE  
(smiles wolfishly) "Good, the scout is here."

(Immie comes over, Duncan and he eye each other warily.)

FREDERICH  
(introducing himself) "Frederich von Braun."

DUNCAN  
"Duncan MacLeod." (still careful) "Odd to see a German here."

FREDERICH  
"You think maybe all Germans are Nazis? That we all love Hitler? That we don't care what he's done to our country?"

DUNCAN  
"No."

FREDERICH  
(still attacking) "And is it not odd to see a Scot here?"

DUNCAN  
"The Scots and the French have been allies many times over the centuries."

FREDERICH  
(fishing for information) "Many centuries. Hmm?"

CLAUDE  
(stepping in) "Frederich had helped us before. We trust him. As we trust you. And now, we are all allies, and we have a job to do, oui?"

FREDERICH  
(deliberately German) "Ja. I have seen them, a company of twenty marching. They will be here soon. We can ambush them."

_If there is enough money, we can blow up a truck or a bridge or something. If not enough money, we can have it be only two or three Nazis in a car._

CLAUDE  
"Good. Simple, straightforward. Fast." (All check their weapons, he goes to tell people the plan. They get ready and hide.)

SOUND of Marching feet. The Nazis approach. Duncan and his friends wait, and wait until the Nazis are directly in front of them. A young woman steps out on the other side of the road just as Claude FIRES the first shot. She stops, tries to go back, but a gun fight has erupted and she is shot, too. Chaos ensues, and the fighting goes on. Duncan takes a hit, falls. Frederich shoots the man who shot Duncan, then grins down at Duncan.

Duncan looks up, a bit worried, and dies.

**TRANSITION TO:**

Duncan still on the ground, reviving. Frederich not far away, smoking a cigarette.

FREDERICH  
"I told them I would bury you."

DUNCAN  
(Dryly) "Thanks." (struggling to sit up. Takes a drag from the cigarette Frederich offers him, gives it back, looks around at the remains of the fight.)

FREDERICH  
"But I hoped you would help me bury her." (Nods to young woman lying covered with a cloth nearby.)

DUNCAN  
"Yes. Of course."

FREDERICH  
(putting out cigarette, saving it for later, going over to the woman's body.) "Such a waste." (they exchange sad and meaningful glances.) "But what can we do? Sometimes in war, terrible things happen, or we do terrible things, in the hopes of something better, someday."

DUNCAN  
"Someday."  
(They start to dig)

* * *

**End of Flashback TRANSITION TO:**

**60805 EXT. ABBEY CEMETERY - DAY**  
(The funeral still going on)

FREDERICH  
(Watches funeral, shakes his head, genuinely sad.)  
"Terrible, such a tragedy. Such a criminal waste. Did you know her?"

DUNCAN  
"No. I'm on the Board of Directors for the Abbey's orphanage, but she'd only been the Mother Superior for a month. We hadn't met. You?"

FREDERICH  
"No, but I came to pay my respects." (Looks at abbey's tower in the distance) "And to visit my old home."

DUNCAN  
"You lived here?"

FREDERICH  
"As an orphan. Many, many years ago."

(They grow silent, watching the end of the funeral, the dirt being dropped on the grave. People move away; Frederic and Duncan both turn and search at a BUZZ.)

(KARLA, dressed in habit and veil, is walking toward the grave, but she veers away and heads straight toward them, a murderously cold look on her face.)

FREDERICH  
"Ah, the Lady of the Tower. The She-Wolf of the battlefield. The circling raven of war."

DUNCAN  
(disbelieving) "The nun?"

FREDERICH  
"Sister Mary Carlotta, now. Karla Morgan, then. But what better to place to hide than an abbey? Who would look for a she-wolf in nun's clothing?"

DUNCAN  
"Maybe she's changed."

FREDERICH  
"Oh, no. Not her. Not in the last thousand years, and not since she almost took my head, three hundred sixty-seven years ago."

(Karla arrives. There's no time for Duncan to ask the questions he wants to.)

KARLA  
(to Frederich, cold and angry) "You have no right to be here."

FREDERICH  
"On the contrary, I have an obligation to be here." (looks toward grave, now being filled in with shovelfuls of dirt.) "I must fulfill my duty."

KARLA  
(venomous) "To the woman you killed?"

(Duncan looks at Frederich, shocked)

FREDERICH  
"It was an accident. A tragic mistake. I did not mean to kill her." (He's sincere)

KARLA  
(suddenly understanding) "You meant to kill me."

FREDERICH  
(dismissing it) "Only temporarily. I wanted to get your attention, and you haven't answered any of my letters."

KARLA  
(no longer murderous, not really even angry.) "I answered the first one, and the answer was no. It always will be no."

FREDERICH  
"So. We fight then, tomorrow at noon, in the garden?"

KARLA  
"No."

FREDERICH  
(getting irritated) "The day after?"

KARLA  
"No."

FREDERICH  
(angry now) "You know what I want, and you know why. I will have it." (He leaves, Karla stares after him.)

DUNCAN  
(tired of being ignored, offering his hand.) "I'm Duncan MacLeod."

(Karla flicks him a glance, then starts to walk away. Duncan follows. She stops.)

KARLA  
(an imperious command) "Leave me."

DUNCAN  
"I just wanted-"

KARLA  
"Go-away." (she starts walking)

DUNCAN  
(calling after her) "Why won't you fight him?"

KARLA  
(turns to face him, looks him up and down) "A man is known by the company he keeps, and by the people he kills. A woman, even more so." (She walks on, Duncan is left standing there.)

**FADE OUT.**

**== END OF ACT ONE ==**

* * *

_insert commercials here_

* * *

**== ACT TWO ==**

**FADE IN:**

**60806 EXT. JUST OUTSIDE THE ABBEY GATES - DAY**

(Duncan catches up to Frederich)

DUNCAN  
"Mind telling me what that was about?"

FREDERICH  
"An old dispute. She has something that belongs to me. I want it."

DUNCAN  
"And that's why you killed the Mother Superior?"

FREDERICH  
"As I said, a mistake. They look much the same from a distance. I did not realize there were two people in the room."

DUNCAN  
"That's a hell of a mistake to make!"

FREDERICH  
"And you have never killed without intending to?" (pause) "I wanted to get Karla's attention."

DUNCAN  
(disgusted) "So you were going to kill her."

FREDERICH  
"She has done the same to me!"

* * *

**FLASHBACK TRANSITION TO:**

**60807 EXT: FOREST IN BULGARIA - 1510 - DAY**

KARLA and FREDERICH are fighting with swords. She is dressed in men's clothing. It's sparring, with a vengeance. After a bit, Karla does something to let Frederich get inside her guard, but in so doing, he makes himself vulnerable, and she gives him a mortal wound, even as he manages to slice her a good one. He dies, she collapses on the ground, bleeding, but alive.

**TRANSITION TO:**

Frederich reviving, Karla standing over him with her sword at his neck. He looks about for his sword; it's stuck in a tree about 10 feet away. He glares at her. She stares back coolly, then backs away.

FREDERICH  
(sitting up, feeling about where he was wounded) "Sweet Jesu, that hurts."

KARLA  
"If you were headless, it wouldn't bother you at all."

FREDERICH  
(getting to his feet) "Did you have to kill me?"

KARLA  
"This time, maybe you will pay attention. I have told you before, several times: In an Immortal duel, your opponent will allow himself to be wounded in ways that a mortal never would. You must be on guard against that. You must always be on guard."

FREDERICH  
(nodding, getting the message now. He stretches and retrieves his sword.) "I don't like this dying."

KARLA  
"Get used to it." (starts cleaning the blood off her blade.)

FREDERICH  
(cleaning his sword, too) "How many times have you died?"

KARLA  
"Hundreds of times. A thousand, maybe. Of course, I am a warrior. I knew one Immortal who lived on Holy Ground and died only three times in nine hundred years."

FREDERICH  
(more interested in war than people of peace) "What battles have you fought? For what kings?"

KARLA  
"Oh, many. Recently ... Joan of Arc, Brian Boru, even ... " (smiles at Frederich) "... Arthur of Britain."

FREDERICH  
(forgetting to clean his sword) "You knew King Arthur?"

KARLA  
(shrugging) "I saw him from a distance on occasion. I was in his army, not a member of the Round Table."

FREDERICH  
"What was his sword like? Excalibur?"

KARLA  
(remembering) "Elegant, yet unadorned. About the length of my sword. The blade was like no other I have ever seen. They say the metal came from the heavens." (gets back to polishing her own sword, which is also elegant, yet unadorned.)

FREDERICH  
(lost in thought) "A sword from heaven."

KARLA  
(getting back to business) "Come. It's time to practice ambushing."

* * *

**End of Flashback TRANSITION TO:**

**60808 EXT. JUST OUTSIDE THE ABBEY GATES - DAY**

DUNCAN  
"She was your teacher?"

FRED  
"Yes. She found me before I became Immortal. Killed me, the first time."

(Duncan doesn't like the sound of this, but the BUZZ comes again, and KARLA comes over to the gate, stays on her side of it, on the Abbey grounds.)

KARLA  
"Leave."

FREDERICH  
"You know, I must be stupid. I have looked for you for nearly four hundred years, and it never *once* occurred to me that you would dare to come back *here*, where it all began." (smiling, but not nicely.) "And where it will all end. You know I should have it, Karla. It's my turn."

KARLA  
"Your turn? This isn't a game."

FREDERICH  
(exploding with rage) "No, it is not a game! It is _war_. And that church is Holy Ground, but the orphanage and your tower are not." (They glare at each other, then Frederich walks away)

KARLA  
(to Duncan) "Get out. You have no business here."

NUN  
(hurries over) "Monsieur MacLeod?"

DUNCAN  
"Yes."

NUN  
"You're wanted at the Board of Directors' meeting. I will escort you to Father Bellam's office." (Duncan gives Karla a beatific smile as the nun opens the gate and ushers him into the courtyard.)

NUN  
(To Karla) "Sister Carlotta, you should not be here, talking to a man! The children are waiting for you in the music conservatory. Go."

(Karla is furious, but submits to the sister and walks away.)

* * *

**60809 INT. ABBEY HALLWAY - AFTERNOON**  
(Duncan comes out of one door, just as Karla appears at the end of the hall. At the BUZZ, Karla keeps walking. Duncan intercepts her.)

KARLA  
(still walking) "I told you I didn't want to talk to you."

DUNCAN  
"I think you need someone to talk to."

KARLA  
"I think you are more curious than is good for you."

DUNCAN  
(charming as ever) "Probably. Look, I know Frederich. We fought against the Nazis together for five months. He's a good man, a good soldier."

KARLA  
(stopping) "A warrior, through and through."

DUNCAN  
"Yes, and you were his teacher." (looks her over, trying to figure it-and her-out.) "What does he want from you?"

KARLA  
(Karla looks Duncan over, evaluating him, then decides to tell the tale.) "A sword."

* * *

**FLASHBACK TRANSITION TO:**

**60810 EXT: NEAR MAGDEBURG, GERMANY - MAY 1631 - DAY**

(A city in the distance is in smoldering ruins, fields lie blasted, broken wagons, etc. Crows circle overhead, some land to feast on dead bodies. KARLA and FREDERICH stand watching, both dressed in soldier's outfits of the Thirty Years War. They're tired and filthy and hungry. The war started 13 years ago, and it has 17 more left to run.)

FREDERICH  
"The city's been burning for three days, and the looting and the killing haven't stopped yet. Twenty-five thousand dead, they say. Women, children ..."

KARLA  
(shrugs in resignation. She's seen it before.) "The soldiers were starving. General Tilly couldn't control them. That's what happens in war."

FREDERICH  
(not accepting it that easily) "I could not stop my own men. I tried. I called to them ... I threw myself in front of them. They attacked me, left me for dead, then they chopped the hands and legs off a priest and threw the bloody pieces onto his own altar. They took the women, they ... And I could not stop them." (forces himself to calmness) "You taught me to be a warrior, Karla, and I am proud of that. To fight well, to fight bravely against a worthy opponent-that is what a man should do!"

KARLA  
(raises eyebrows)

FREDERICH  
(acknowledging her.) "Or a woman. But this ... this slaughter of innocents ... this has no honor, no glory. This is not war, this is abomination."

KARLA  
(turns away from the city, starts to gather scraps of wood for a fire.)

**TRANSITION TO:**  
(Karla and Frederich roasting horse meat over a small campfire, telling stories)

KARLA  
"You made quite a name for yourself among the soldiers during the winter campaign, Frederich. The men were glad to follow you." (leans over and pats his arm) "I'm proud of you."

FREDERICH  
(Smiling, accepting praise.) "You taught me well, and I am proud to serve with you. But not this war, not anymore." (pokes stick at fire, looks at her speculatively) "In my travels over the last century, I have heard stories of you, too. Stories from other Immortals."

KARLA  
(suddenly, but not obviously, cautious) "Have you?"

FREDERICH  
"They say you have never been defeated."

KARLA  
"I am still alive, yes. But I have been lucky, and I practice every day."

FREDERICH  
"They say it is more than luck, and more than skill. They say ... it is your sword."

KARLA  
(laughing) "It's the hand that holds the sword, Frederich. And the strength in the arm behind it. You know that."

FREDERICH  
"I also know King Arthur and Joan of Arc had swords of great power, and you fought in both their armies. A magic sword to defeat an overwhelming enemy. The sword ... Excalibur!"

KARLA  
(standing, brushing off her hands.) "This is ridiculous."

FREDERICH  
(standing, too) "Is it? The immortal who had that sword could defeat anyone!"

KARLA  
"Joan of Arc and Arthur used swords in defense of their countries. You would use a sword for yourself."

FREDERICH  
"NO! For the world! Don't you see? ! No evil immortal could stand against me! I could win the Prize! I could prevent such slaughter as we have seen today. I could do such good. Give me the sword, Karla."

KARLA  
"No, Frederich. This is not right for you."

FREDERICH  
"Who are you to decide-the Lady of the Lake?" (starts laughing, gets suddenly serious) "Karla Morgan ... Morgan Le Faye. Yes. The guardian of the sword."

KARLA  
"Those are myths, legends."

FREDERICH  
"Immortality is a myth, and yet here we stand. You know I am a great warrior. You taught me. You know I could protect so many. You have the sword, and you do not use it! I will be the champion you have been waiting for, the champion you have trained."

KARLA  
(trying to convince him) "There is no such sword for you."

FREDERICH  
"Do you think I am not ready? Is that it?" (draws his own sword.) "I will prove to you that I am worthy."

KARLA.  
(backing away) "No, Frederich, stop, please-"

FREDERICH  
(attacks and won't give up.)

KARLA  
(eventually pulls her sword to defend herself.) "Don't do this!"

FREDERICH  
(still whacking away, maddened by the sight of her sword) "If you will not bestow the sword upon me, I will win it, in battle!"

KARLA  
(realizing he's completely lost it, gets serious and runs him through, mortally wounding him. He dies looking up at her; she closes his eyes with her hand. She stands with her sword in her hand, looking at his neck, then she walks away.)

**FADE OUT.**

**== END OF ACT TWO ==**

* * *

_insert commercials here_

* * *

**== ACT THREE ==**

**FADE IN:**

**60811 INT. ABBEY HALLWAY - AFTERNOON**

DUNCAN  
"He thinks you have Excalibur?"

KARLA  
"Amazing, isn't it? Magical swords, legends, myths ... Arthur of Britain coming back from the dead."

DUNCAN  
"I've done that. And so have you. Some legends are true."

KARLA  
"Oh, come now, MacLeod. Excalibur? Next you'll be telling me you believe in dragons or demons." (shakes her head and starts walking) "I had hoped Frederich would outgrow this obsession."

DUNCAN  
"Why don't you just give him a sword? Any sword."

KARLA  
"So that he would feel free to challenge anyone? He's very good, but he's not invincible. If he feels he cannot lose, he will be careless, and I don't want him to die. He's a good man, brave, honorable. Killing Mother Bernadette was a mistake. Frederich would never deliberately harm a mortal. He cares too much."

(They go through a doorway and into the courtyard)

**60812 EXT. ABBEY COURTYARD - AFTERNOON**

(A six-year-old girl runs up to Karla).

KARLA  
(bending down to say hello.) "Chloe, how are you? Have you finished your piano practice for the day?"

CHLOE  
(makes a face) "Sister Antoinette said I had to work on my spelling. But I'm going now; will you come listen to me play, Sister Carlotta?"

KARLA  
"Yes, little one. I will be there in a moment." (gives Chloe a hug) "Go along."

(Chloe runs across the courtyard.)

DUNCAN  
(turns from watching Chloe, speaks to Karla.) "Is Frederich-"

SOUND OF GUNSHOT  
(Chloe falls to the ground, Karla and Duncan run to her. Duncan lifts his head as the BUZZ hits, and he takes off racing for the gate, for Frederich.

_[Time and money permitting, a chase scene can be inserted here, or Duncan can stop before he gets past the abbey gates.]_

Frederich hops on a motorcycle and gets away, and Duncan stops giving chase. He goes back to Karla, who's sitting on the ground with the dead girl in her arms. Two nuns come and take the body away on a stretcher. Karla stands and watches.)

DUNCAN  
"He got away."

NUN comes up, hands Karla a note. Karla reads it, crumples it.

KARLA  
"But he's not gone. And it's not over. This is war." (She goes into church)

**60813 INT. ABBEY CHURCH - LATE AFTERNOON**

(Duncan appears in back of church, watches Karla, who's kneeling in front of the statue of the Blessed Mother. Karla gets up, joins him.)

KARLA  
"It seems Frederich has changed since last I knew him."

DUNCAN  
"People do."

KARLA  
"I had hoped ..." (She shakes her head) "I had such dreams ..."

* * *

**FLASHBACK TRANSITION TO:**

**60814 INT. ABBEY COURTYARD - DAY - 1454**

(Same Abbey, different century. Pennants fly, chickens run about, a cart and donkey stand against the wall. Ragged children play tag. Karla, dressed as a wealthy lady, walks through the courtyard with the Abbess, then stops to watch as a boy of about seven runs across their path.)

KARLA  
"A recent orphan from the war?"

ABBESS  
"No, an infant foundling, from our convent to the north. The nun who found him was German, and she named him Frederich before they sent him along to us. He's quite a handful, that one."

KARLA  
"Is he?" (calls out to the boy.) "Frederich!"

YOUNG FREDERICH  
(runs over, a stocky little boy, cheerful) "Yes, Lady?"

KARLA  
(bends down to talk to him) "How old are you, Frederich?"

YOUNG FREDERICH  
"I do not know, Lady."

ABBESS  
"He has been with us seven years."

KARLA  
"What do you want to be when you older, Frederich?"

FREDERICH  
"I want to be a knight, like King Arthur!"

ABBESS  
"Hush, child. Such is not for you. Only gentry can be knights. We will teach you a good trade, and you can became a tailor, or maybe a blacksmith."

FREDERICH  
(mutinous) "I don't want to be a blacksmith and make horseshoes. I want a sword and shield and shining armor, and ride out like Sir Lancelot to fight evil dragons and rescue maidens!"

ABBESS  
"Such nonsense!"

KARLA  
"Perhaps not. Perhaps he will have a sword, someday. Do you like it here, Frederich?"

YOUNG FREDERICH  
(looks up at Abbess, stares at toes.) "Yes, Lady. The sisters are very kind."

KARLA  
"Perhaps you would like a mother more?"

YOUNG FREDERICH  
(looks up, startled.) "I have no mother."

KARLA  
"Would you like me to be your mother?"

YOUNG FREDERICH  
"You?" (looks her over and smiles, completely happy) "Oh, yes."

ABBESS  
"Countess Charlotte, you cannot mean to take this ... this urchin as your son. We don't know his family. His father could be anyone, his mother was probably-"

KARLA  
(stands and announces) "I will take him as my own, and I will see that he is trained as a warrior." (offers Frederich her hand) "Come, Frederich." (they walk off together)

* * *

**END FLASHBACK TRANSITION TO:**

**60815 INT. ABBEY CHURCH - LATE AFTERNOON - 1998**-

KARLA  
"He's not just my student; he's my son. And he has to die."

(Karla goes to kneel in front of the main altar now, staring at crucifix. Duncan leaves her to her devotions.)

**FADE OUT**

**== END OF ACT THREE ==**

* * *

_insert commercials here_

* * *

**== ACT FOUR ==**

**FADE IN**

**60816 EXT. GARDEN NEAR ABBEY - EVENING**

(Frederich is waiting, pacing back and forth. He looks up at the BUZZ, sees DUNCAN approaching.)

FREDERICH  
"Duncan MacLeod. What an unexpected pleasure."

DUNCAN  
(grimly) "Not pleasure. Business."

FREDERICH  
"I have no quarrel with you."

DUNCAN  
"But I have one with you."

FREDERICH  
"The two of us shouldn't fight. We're both warriors! We both have codes of honor!"

DUNCAN  
"My code of honor doesn't include shooting six-year-old girls."

FREDERICH  
"Regrettable, yes." (He really means it.) "But in war, sometimes we must do terrible things."

DUNCAN  
"What war?"

FREDERICH  
"The ultimate war! The war for the Prize! We call it a Game, but we all know it is war."

DUNCAN  
"And you think that gives you the right to shoot little girls so you can have a sword."

FREDERICH  
(not happy, suddenly more menacing) "Karla should never have told you."

DUNCAN  
"If Karla won't give the sword to you, why don't you try something easier, like stealing it?"

FREDERICH  
(horrified) "Steal? You cannot steal such a sword. (He's seeing a vision of glory) "It must be given, bestowed upon the one who should wield it." (more pragmatic now) "Or, it must be won in battle."

DUNCAN  
"And since Karla won't give it to you, you're trying to force her to fight you."

FREDERICH  
(pleased with his plan) "She will come. Now."

DUNCAN  
"And if you do get this sword?"

FREDERICH  
"I could defeat anyone! I would win the Prize!"

DUNCAN  
"First you'd have to kill every other Immortal on the planet."

FREDERICH  
"How many Immortals are there? A few thousand? What are our lives compared to the billions of mortals? We exist to be sacrificed, the few for the good of the many. When I win the Prize, I will make the world a better place for all mortals! Don't you see? She has the sword, and she does not use it! She is cowardly, afraid. If she had given me the sword centuries ago as she should have, I could have done so much. No World Wars. No Napoleon. No Khmer Rouge. No Hitler. No slaughter, no sickness, no famine. Aren't our immortal lives a small price to pay for that? Isn't one child's life worth the happiness of millions upon millions?"

DUNCAN  
"No."

FREDERICH  
"You have such limited vision, MacLeod." (gets suspicious and paranoid) "Or perhaps you are jealous? You think yourself worthy? Excalibur should be mine! I _am_ the chosen one! I can save the world!"

DUNCAN  
(been there, done that) "Not this way." (draws his katana)

FREDERICH  
"So." (draws his own weapon, accepting the inevitable) "I tell you, MacLeod, this business gives me no pleasure. But in war-"

DUNCAN  
"I know, I know. Sometimes in war, we must do terrible things."

(They stalk, circle. Frederich attacks first (Of course). They're evenly matched, it's a good fight between two honorable warriors, neither willing to take unfair advantage. After a bit of fighting, cut to-)

* * *

**60817 INT. ABBEY CHURCH - EVENING**

Karla is still kneeling in front of the altar.

**MEMORY MONTAGE**

====  
(Frederich in the courtyard as a seven-year-old)

FREDERICH  
"I want to be a knight, like King Arthur!"

====  
(Frederich, still seven, in a bedchamber at night with Karla by his side)

FREDERICH  
"Tell me the story of the Lady of the Lake and the sword Excalibur."

KARLA  
"Again, little one?"

FREDERICH  
"Oh, yes. It's my favorite!"

KARLA  
"I know." (kisses him) "All right, but then you must go to sleep."

====  
(In the same bedchamber, Frederich at age forty, lying on a bed with Karla standing over him, a knife in her hands.)

KARLA  
"Are you sure you want me to do this?"

FREDERICH  
"Yes. I'm ready to be immortal, and I prefer to die at your hands and wake up with you by my side."

KARLA  
"I will be here for you."

FREDERICH  
(smiles up at her in love and trust) "I know."

KARLA plunges the knife into his heart, and Frederich dies

**CUT TO:**  
Shots of them sparring, eating together by a fire, laughing

Frederich staring at the burning city of Magdeburg

Frederich and Karla fighting in earnest, him lying dead on the ground

Very rapidly: Bernadette dying in Karla's arms, young Frederich asleep in Karla's arms, Chloe dead in Karla's arms.

FREDERICH (VOICEOVER) "This is war."  
=====

**End of Montage**

Karla finally rises, goes up the dais and rummages underneath the altar, lifting a heavy stone and withdrawing her sword that we've seen in the earlier FB. She lifts the blade in salute to the crucifix, looks briefly at the statue of the Blessed Mother, then walks out of the church, sword in hand.

* * *

**60818 EXT. GARDEN NEAR ABBEY - EVENING**

Frederich and Duncan are still hard at the fight, looking a bit winded. They pause and stalk each other, then both look around at the BUZZ.

KARLA stands at the gate, no longer clad in habit and wimple, but in slinky black fighting clothes and black running shoes. Her hair is not neatly combed anymore, but spiked up (but not TOO much like Joan Jett in "Freefall.") Karla's hands are empty.

She glares at them as if they were naughty schoolboys. The men stop and back away from each other a little.

KARLA  
(angrily to Duncan) "I never asked you to fight for me. This isn't your battle." (To Frederich.) "It's _mine._"

FREDERICH  
"You can't interfere."

KARLA  
"You don't even want MacLeod's head. He can't give what you want. I can."

FREDERICH  
"So where is the sword, Karla?"

KARLA  
"You want it? Come and get it. Follow the leader, Frederich. That's the game now."

FREDERICH  
(savagely) "It's no game."

KARLA  
"No. No game. War."

(She backs away and he follows, then she turns and starts sprinting, running for the tower. Frederich goes after her, Duncan watches them go.)

**60819 EXT. ABBEY COURTYARD - EVENING**

Karla runs across the courtyard. Frederich isn't that far behind. He's gained some ground on her. She disappears into the base of the tower, the door slams shut. He opens it, follows, sword in hand.

**60820 INT. TOWER STAIRS - EVENING**

Karla is running up the stairs, two at a time. Frederich going up, too, not quite so fast as she. Karla still running easily. Frederich stumbles a bit, slows to one stair at a time. Karla passes by a window, running fine. After a moment, Frederich follows, not so happy now. Karla reaches the door to her room, goes through, shuts it behind her.

**60821 INT. TOWER ROOM - NIGHT**

Karla goes to shield on wall. The sword is set there, blade pointed up. She takes it down, puts on the shield, faces the door. She's barely breathing hard.

SOUND OF dragging footsteps on the stairs. Frederich opens the door, panting heavily, sword in hand. His gaze locks greedily onto the sword in Karla's hand.

FREDERICH  
"Give me the sword, Karla."

KARLA  
"Oh, no, Frederich. You don't just get the sword. We're going to do this the old-fashioned way. You have to _earn_ it."

(No more words, no bowing, no wasted time, the battle begins. She attacks first. He's good, no question, but she's completely focused, completely cold. A warrior, through and through. Various things in the room get broken or busted, the battle rages on. She stabs him through, he falls to his knees and drops his sword.)

FREDERICH  
(bleeding, panting) "Karla ... Mother ..."

KARLA  
(She doesn't even blink at the title.) "I was a warrior before I was your mother, Frederich, and I am a warrior still. And this - is war." (The sword comes down, the head comes off, the body falls.)

(Karla lays the sword down and takes off the shield before the quickening begins. She stands first with head down and arms out to the sides as the lightning takes her. Slowly she raises her arms, head still hanging, the posture of a dead person on a cross. No screams, teeth and hands clenched tight, eyes wide open.)

**60822 EXT. ABBEY COURTYARD - NIGHT**

Duncan stands in the courtyard, watching lightning blast around the top of the tower against the dark sky.

**60823 INT. TOWER ROOM - NIGHT**

The quickening is at its height. Karla opens her hands and tilts back her head, drawing down the power into herself.

It's over. She staggers, drops to her knees beside the body of her son, tears running down her face.

**FADE OUT**

**== END OF ACT FOUR ==**

* * *

_insert commercials here_

* * *

**== TAG ==**

**60824 INT. TOWER ROOM - NIGHT**

After the quickening, the room is blasted, video cameras shattered, computer melted, door crooked, etc. No body in evidence. Karla now wears a white hooded robe over her black fighting clothes, but the hood is not over her head. She sits on the floor in the center of room, on her heels, hands lying relaxed on top of her thighs. The sword and shield are back on the wall, the tip of the sword now pointing down. She's staring out the eastern window at the darkness.

She looks toward the stairs when she feels the BUZZ, but doesn't move or reach for the sword. FOOTSTEPS sound on stairs.

DUNCAN (off-camera)  
"Karla?"

KARLA  
"Here."

Duncan appears in doorway, pauses there, looks around at mess, comes to sit on the floor near her, but does not block her view of the window.

DUNCAN  
"You all right?"

KARLA  
(pause) "I will be."

DUNCAN  
(explaining) "I wasn't trying to fight for you, but I would have spared you this. I know how hard it is, killing someone you've loved."

KARLA  
(correcting him gently) "Love." (sighs, looks at sword) "But sometimes in life, we chose to do terrible things, and so others must chose to be even more terrible."

DUNCAN  
(nods, pauses) "Look, if you'd like, you can bunk at my place for the night. If you don't want to go to a hotel or-"

KARLA  
"Thank you. But I will stay here, until the rising of the sun."

DUNCAN  
"And then?"

KARLA  
"I will leave."

DUNCAN  
"Do you know where you'll go?

KARLA  
"Do we ever?"

DUNCAN  
(thinks about that, starts to get up) "See you around?"

KARLA  
(looks at him carefully, judging) "Yes. You will."

Duncan locks gaze, nods, gets up, and leaves. Karla looks out window again, waiting.

**TRANSITION TO ...**

**60824 INT. TOWER ROOM - DAWN**

Karla still sitting on floor, motionless watching the sun rise through the window. When it clears the horizon, she stands, picks up sword and shield and leaves the tower behind without a backward glance.

**60825 INT. ABBEY CHURCH - VERY EARLY MORNING (optional scene)  
**

Karla enters deserted church, replaces the sword and shield under the altar, then goes over to a stone wall that has a Celtic Cross carving in it. She stares at it, touches a few points here and there in a certain sequence, then starts to sing - long wordless notes that reverberate in the high stone-ribbed vaults of the church. The Celtic cross opens (splitting in half and opening like two doors), revealing behind it a gloriously-colored stain-glassed window (a quartered circle, same as the shield) with the real Excalibur hanging in front of it. Small flickers of blue lightning run up and down the blade with the music. Still singing, Karla reverently takes the sword from its hiding place, and sings a final note until the Celtic Cross doors shut again, looking once more like solid stone, and the lightning on the sword dies away.

Karla bows to the Celtic cross, then lifts the sword Excalibur in salute. She bows again, conceals the sword under her robe, and leaves.

**60826 EXT. ABBEY COURTYARD - VERY EARLY MORNING**

Karla gets in her car, drives through the abbey gate and heads out into the world as the church bells begin to chime, and three crows fly past the Celtic Cross silhouetted against the sky.

**FADE OUT**

**== END OF TAG ==**

**== END OF EPISODE ==**

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTES**

At Legacy Con, I went to the discussion on "The Process" or "Why writing scripts isn't like writing Fanfic." Donna Lettow rolled some dice and told the audience we had to write a script for Season 6, episode 8. (This episode is "Justice" with Katya.)

The filming constraints we were under were:

~~~~~  
MUST have a strong, ass-kicking f'immie (Canadian or European).  
F'immie must be older than Duncan.  
Cannot make explicit reference to earlier HL events or characters. (Stand alone)  
AP is available all filming days, and he does have his sword.  
Not much money, no elaborate FBs or Special effects. Just enough for one Q.  
No scenes inside Barge (Too hot in the summer)  
No Methos, Joe, or Amanda. No Richie, either. (not even in FBs, this is a stand alone)

Must have Teaser, Four Acts, and a Tag, 52 pages, max. (This is about 25 pages, but in scripts they use big margins. I have no idea if this is long enough; I've never done this sort of thing before.) Must have an aborted sword fight in Act 2, and a final Sword fight with Quickening (or other explosive kind of event) in Act 4. This IS an action adventure story. Keep those German buyers happy.

Go for it.  
~~~~~

So, we did. At the Con, we came up with the idea of Karla (has to start with a K)(no, I dont know why) who had been on Holy Ground for centuries. Karla is not a nun, just a lay sister, and she's a hip kind of woman. We got a bit bogged down as to what kind of nun she was and such, but established that her student Frederich von Braun was after her sword, which he thought was magical. (A bit like Luther and Rebecca and the crystal.) We ran out of time on establishing his motivations, he was just the basic evil k'immie. (The "Frederich von Braun" name comes from F. Braun McAsh. The golf bag of swords is from a comment made by Mr. McAsh.)

We decided that Fred shoots a nun in the teaser. In Act I, Duncan meets Fred and gets one story, then meets Karla and gets another story, and Duncan has to decide whom to trust. (Shades of Cassandra and Methos.)

We kind of skipped Acts II and III, but we had Duncan and Fred have a fight in Act IV, which is interrupted by Karla. We had Duncan in trouble and in danger of losing his head when Karla showed up.

Then F. Braun McAsh and Bob Chapin came out to work on the fight sequences. Bob didn't want to play the woman, so Morgan from the audience graciously volunteered (or was volunteered by her friends) to play Karla, and Bob got to play Duncan's part. They worked their way through two fight sequences: Bob vs. Braun, and then Braun vs. Karla.

Then our time was over, and the script was left undone.

But I couldn't leave it there. I asked Morgan if I could use her name, and she graciously said yes, so Karla became Karla Morgan. Then I realized that Morgan's email name is Morrigan, and I went AHA! Morgan -Morrigan - Morgaine La Fey, and the magical sword is (of course) Excalibur. I don't care for basically evil k'immies, so I gave Fred a motivation and made him honorable, if a bit obsessed. I also gave him and Duncan a past history, both to make use of Duncan in the show, since he was available all of the filming days, and so Duncan's confusion about whom to trust had a bit more reason to it.

Karla and Fred have a history kind of like Roland and Cassandra (but no, I didn't come up with that angle), and I played up the adoption thing in this script because I liked what it did to add complexity to the relationship between Karla and Fred, and also to give Duncan more reason to challenge Fred at the end, since Duncan would want to spare Karla the horrific task of beheading her own son (shades of Richie and Duncan).

The Lady in the Tower seemed like neat symbolism to me (ivory tower, rapunzel, the Lady of Shalot, etc.), and I really wanted the Quickening to happen there, so it would look like the Tower Card in the Tarot deck.

I had the sword Excalibur being hidden in the stone wall of the church, and had already written the scene with Karla singing it out of its hiding place, when it finally (duh!) occurred to me that she had just pulled the sword from the stone.

Comments? Complaints? Critiques? More ideas? Let me know!

Parda


End file.
